The thoughts and experiences of a man who enjoys challenging arts, unplanned wanderings and intelligent conversations.

12 May 2013

Chinese Garden in Frankfurt

One of the nicest things about travelling by train is that you can just walk on when it is time to go and that meant that I could have a final Sunday morning in Frankfurt before catching an afternoon train to Brussels and then London.

And I had somewhere to go on that morning too.

Returning to the belt of green around the old town I went to Bethmannpark. This is not strictly speaking part of that ring as it sits just outside it.

This park was pretty enough in its own right but what had attracted me there was the Chinese garden within it. Like the Chinese garden in Zurich, this was the genuine article having been built by Chinese people with Chinese materials.

It had all of the features that I expected in a Chinese garden from the many that I saw in China. Most important of these, in my mind, were the roofs, the water and the zig-zag bridge across it.

The overall effect was of tranquillity, as it should be.

I exploited that tranquillity by walking slowly around and through the garden admiring the acers and the architecture as I did so.

I also sat for long periods on one of the benches and in the pavilion just to revel in being there.

After that pleasant break it was time to face reality and head back to the station going the way that I came, by tram which took me directly there.

The Chinese Garden was like much of Frankfurt. It was not necessarily exceptional by itself, it was the cumulative impact of all the many good things that made the few days spent there whizz by with remarkable little time spent in bars and no time at all in shops.